S.Leader: Tough Captivity Years Turned POWs To Shining diamonds

Tehran, Aug 16, IRNA – Supreme Leader said here Wednesday in a meeting with freed POWs of Iran-Iraq war, “You are regained gems from reservoir of faith and tough years of captivity have turned you into shining diamonds.” Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei made the comment in a meeting Wednesday evening with hundreds of proud freed prisoners of war; once again sympathized with the victims of the devastating East Azarbaijan earthquake; considered the Qods issue the major concern of the Islamic world, and emphasized, “By grace of Almighty God, this year too, the Muslim Iranian nation would on Qods Day punch the mouths of the enemies of Islamic and Palestine.” According to the Supreme Leader’s information website, Ayatollah Khamenei said that the seizing of the Islamic land of Palestine and settling the Zionists at that land was the basis of distorted engineering of the Middle East and the root cause for the entire problems with which the nations in this region have been entangled during the course of the recent decades. His eminence reiterated, “Had that conspiracy not been hatched these wars, disputes and interferences of the hegemonic powers would have never taken place.” The leader of the Islamic Revolution added, “The Zionists and their supporters try hard to wipe the Palestine issue off the minds of the world nations, but the Islamic world must resist against this treacherous plot.” Ayatollah Khamenei drawing attention to the late Imam Khomeini’s special sensitivity about Palestine issue as of the beginning of shape taking of the Islamic movement, added, “The victory of the Islamic revolution has created a historical obstacle in the way of the hegemonic powers’ efforts aimed at urging the nations to forget the issue of seizing of Palestine.” Ayatollah Khamenei referring to the efforts made to make everyone forget the Palestine issue, added, “In the framework of the Shia-Sunni discussion, they brought forth the Shia crescent matter, while it has now been 60 years that the Palestinian nation has been under pressure before the eyes of such people, but they have never said anything about it.” His eminence posed the question, “Is it not betraying to highlight the name of the Islamic Republic of Iran as a threat for the Islamic world, while Iran has revived the Palestinian issue and brought back to the headlines the crimes committed by the Zionists?” The leader of the Islamic Revolution emphasizing the need for resistance against the plot aimed at forgetting the Palestine and the holy Qods issues, added, “The Qods issue is not a tactical one for us, as it has deep roots in our Islamic beliefs and we consider the liberation of that Islamic land from the grip of the usurper Zionists a religious duty and the other Islamic nations and governments, too, must look at the Palestine issue the way we do.” The leader of the Islamic Revolution emphasized, “Just as the morning star of hope once shone in case of the Islamic Revolution, once in case of the sacred defense (against the invading Iraqi army of Saddam), and once in return home of the dear prisoners of war, in case of the Palestinian issue, too, it would shine and that Islamic land would beyond doubt be returned to the Palestinian nation, and the forged lie gland of Zionism would be wiped off the scene of the world geography.” Grand Ayatollah Khamenei elsewhere in his comments referred to the recent earthquake in some parts of East Azarbaijan and loss of lives of a group of our dear citizens as a bitter and saddening event that has broken the hearts of the entire Iranian nation and filled them with pain, emphatically advising the entire officials and nation to rush to assist these bereaved guests and to try to relief their pains, or at least to decrease them.” His eminence prayed to God for granting patience to the bereaved family members of the deceased and for strengthening their hearts to tolerate so much pain. The leader of the Islamic Revolution in this meeting with the prestigious freed POWs also referred to never ending need of the society to the beautiful and precious stories of the resistance of the POWs, criticizing the little work done in the field of re-reading and narrating the realities of the captivity period of these beloved individuals both in books and in other fields of arts. His eminence added, “Today the Iranian nation is faced with challenges posed by the United States and if like the dear freed POWs the nation, too, would act in accordance with God’s will, beyond doubt in accordance with God’s promises, it will emerge victorious.” Referring to the changing nature of the world today, Ayatollah Khamenei added, “According to the divine laws, our deeds and acts are effective in new shape taking of the world and in this respect we must take lessons from the resistance of freed POWs which can help in strengthening the hearts and decreasing the worries.” /end